Endocrine Abstracts

Case: A 77-year-old man was admitted with a pathological fracture of the right femur, which required intramedullary nailing. He had previously been diagnosed with Paget’s disease affecting the right femur and also hyperparathyroidism with a large parathyroid adenoma on Sestamibi scan which had been managed at another hospital. On this admission, his corrected calcium was 2.79 (2.15–2.55) mmol/l, PTH 643 (15–65) pg/ml and alkaline phosphatase 258 (30–130) U/...

The usual management at our centre for patients awaiting phaeochromocytoma surgery involves pre-operative titration of alpha blockade with frequent clinic visits for blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) monitoring. The COVID-19 pandemic restricted our ability to consult with patients frequently. To reduce infection risk, we incorporated virtual BP monitoring using a Microsoft Excel template coupled with regular remote consultations. We present a clinical case highlighting o...

Case 1: A 65-year-old man was admitted with symptomatic hypocalcaemia (corrected calcium of 1.65 mmol/l, PTH 46.6 (1.6–6.8) pmol/l, and vitamin D 51.4 (50–150) nmol/l)) 5 days following denosumab initiation. He had a diagnosis of probable urothelial carcinoma with associated osteoblastic metastases, and 10 days prior to this admission had been treated for hypercalcaemia (corrected calcium of 3.04 (2.20–2.60) mmol/l) with i.v. fluids following which denosumab was...

A 31-year-old woman presented with oligomenorrhoea and a raised prolactin. Pituitary scan revealed a 1.8 cm pituitary mass with compression of the optic chiasm. TSH was normal at 3.66 mIU/l with a raised FT4 of 25.8 pmol/l. The rest of pituitary function was normal. Visual fields demonstrated a bitemporal upper quadrantanopia. A diagnosis of TSH-secreting pituitary adenoma was suspected because of the high normal TSH in the presence of a high FT4. She und...

: A 61-year-old gentleman was referred to the Endocrine team with acute bilateral adrenal haemorrhage. He had undergone a successful left popliteal embolectomy for critical limb ischaemia a week ago following which he was commenced on anticoagulation therapy. He presented to the Emergency Department with acute severe abdominal pain and low grade pyrexia of 37.6 C. He was haemodynamically stable. His International Normalised Ratio was noted to be elevated at 4.7. An urgent abdo...

Introduction: Maternal hypothyroidism is associated with an increased risk of complications both to the pregnant mother and the developing fetus. The 2007 American Endocrine Society Guidelines recommend a rapid titration of thyroxine dose to attain a target TSH concentration of ≤2.5 µU/mL in the 1st trimester (≤3 µU/mL in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters). Objectives Our aims were to assess the adequacy of thyroxine replacement in pregnant women with hypothyroi...

Objective: This study aimed to characterise the relationship between immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which are commonly used to treat cancer, and thyroid dysfunction in terms of the proportions affected, timing of onset, sequalae and risk factors.Design: Retrospective cohort studyMethods: Patients with normal baseline thyroid function who received an ICI were included. Proport...

Pituitary metastases are reportedly uncommon. Here we report two cases illustrating metastases responding to systemic anticancer therapy (SACT). A 49-year-old woman with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with combination ipilimumab and nivolumab immunotherapy was referred for hypocortisolaemia (morning cortisol 74 nmol/l). Biochemical screening revealed an adrenocorticotropic hormone of 16ng/l (0-46), thyroid-stimulating-hormone 0.1mU/l (0.55-4.78), free thyroxine 7 pmol...

Approximately 15-20% of phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGL) are metastatic. Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) has been reported infrequently. We present three cases of MSCC secondary to metastatic PPGLs. MSCC can occur in patients with PPGLs and should be considered in patients with either spinal symptoms or spinal metastases on imaging. Our series has shown radiotherapy followed by therapeutic MIBG to be effective in treating spinal metastases. Each case shou...

Introduction: Immunotherapy has transformed the outcomes of various cancers. Monoclonal antibodies against cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4), programmed cell death 1 (PD1) and its ligand, PDL1 target mainly T cells, unleashing the immune system against tumour cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy results in a variety of immune related adverse events, including various endocrinopathies. Thyroid disorders, pituitary disorders are relatively more common compared to pr...